Cholpon-Ata

Cholpon-Ata is located at an altitude of 1609 meters above the sea level at the northern side of the Issyk-Kul Lake (250 km from Bishkek). In the area there are the significant mountain gorges of Kungei, Ala-Too, Chon-Koi-Suu and Cholpon-Ata. It's worth visiting a number of waterfalls, lakes, and forests. The great panoramic view of the Terskei Ala-Too rise up from the emerald riverbanks to the high celestial passes.

The stops of pristine tribes of the Neolithic period were found in many places on the shores of Issyk-Kul Lake, near Cholpon-Ata. There is a huge field of stones with very old rock inscriptions above the town. There are thousands of petroglyphs in Cholpon-Ata valley stretching from the slopes of the Kungey Ala-Too range to the Issyk-Kul Lake. The primitive images are mostly of ibexes, horses (some with riders and bows), snow leopards, camels, etc. These images belong to the 2 millennium BC-the 7th century AD but the greater part goes back to the 7-1st centuries BC when the territory of the Issyk-Kul was populated by Saka tribes, predating the arrival of the Kyrgyz in the area. The Cholpon-Ata town is small but unique. The local museum has many ancient objects of the life in the mountainous region and displays the local history and culture.